Ben Ross was in the thick of the action in Werribee’s impressive 82-point win over North Ballarat. 85451_11 PICTURE: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By LIAM TWOMEY
WERRIBEE further installed itself as a premiership contender heading into the VFL finals series with a crushing 82-point win over North Ballarat on Saturday.
The Tigers dominated the contest from the outset with two early goals from Ben Warren setting the tone for the day.
There was no letting up with nine Werribee players kicking goals in the cold and wet conditions.
At the other end of the ground, the Roosters struggled to put any scoreboard pressure on the Tigers.
In a forward line boasting AFL star Aaron Edwards, North Ballarat kicked just two goals throughout the match and none in the second half to go down 13.24 (102) to 2.8 (20).
Tigers coach Scott West was rapt with the four-quarter effort from his players following the disappointment of losing the Foxtel Cup grand final last week.
“It’s hard to know what the state of mind is after losing the Foxtel Cup grand final, but yeah couldn’t have been happier,” West said.
“We knew that their forward six were really dangerous. Obviously, with stoppages it was really important to get it going our way.
“In saying that, I thought our defenders defended really well. Defended one on one really well and sacrificed their game to come off their own man and help out in the air. All round, I was really pleased.”
The only headache West had for the day was working out who to put in his top six performers with almost every player coming out on top in head-to-head match ups.
Ben Ross was the best of an impressive group, winning a number of important possessions around the ground while only inaccurate kicking prevented Ben McKinley from finishing with a bag of goals in another good game.
Despite sealing the win a long way out from the final siren, West said it was important for his side not to drop off in intensity.
“I think you need to be ruthless sometimes in this game. Obviously playing the North Ballarat team with the Kangaroo guys in there, we really wanted to focus on a couple of key points to make sure at the end of the day we can tick those off to maintain a four-quarter effort.
“At three quarter time, we obviously just wanted to really keep our foot on the pedal.”
With two rounds left in the VFL season before finals, Werribee sits two games clear inside the top four with Port Melbourne, Casey and Geelong.
In their final two games of the season, the Tigers will take on the Northern Blues and Collingwood.
Werribee d North Ballarat 13.24 (102) to 2.8 (20).
Goals Werribee: Warren 3, McKinley 2, Castello 2
Goals North Ballarat: McMahon, Edwards
Best Werribee: Ross, McKinley, Greenwood
Best North Ballarat: Delaney, Couch, McMahon
